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A collection of my favourite eats and sweets!

“Andrew’s Favourites” – Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookies

by Kara Heald

This is a chocolate chip cookie recipe I have been making for at least 10 years. I named it for my husband Andrew who adored the cookie and pronounced it as his favourite. Now the guy has the really tough job of testing everything I make, including oodles of cookie recipes. He says that the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies I make may have overtaken these as the “favourite” cookie, however, these still hold the #1 spot for the chocolate chip category.

After trying a lot of chocolate chip cookie recipes, this one still takes the top spot for me. Great texture, crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside. Lots of semi-sweet chocolate chips and studded with finely chopped pecans which are a favourite of ours.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons of hot water

3 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups of good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups of finely chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silpat liner

In the bowl of an electric mixer cream butter and sugars together until light and creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time and combine well. Add the vanilla.

Combine the baking soda with the hot water and add the liquid to the cookie batter and combine.

Add the kosher salt to the flour and whisk to combine, then add to the mixer in one cup increments combining well after each addition.

Add the chocolate chips and pecans to the dough.

Using a medium OXO scoop (1 1/2 tablespoon capacity) or spoons drop dough onto the baking sheet. Flatten the tops of the cookies to form 2″ disks so the cookie bake evenly into perfect circles.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden . . . *Note: every oven bakes differently so keep and eye on yours to determine the optimal baking time.

Remove from oven, let rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe yields 48 cookies (about 2 3/4″ to 3″ wide)

Tip: After step #7 you can place the cookie disks into the freezer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Once dough is frozen solid remove the disks and place in a large freezer bag to enjoy anytime without the prep work! Bake from frozen until golden (may need a an extra minute or two).